‘Do you think I have to try 100 percent?’: Nick Kyrgios resorts to sexism before possible Aryna Sabalenka showdown | Tennis News

Nick Kyrgios (L) has been on the sidelines due to multiple injuries while Aryna Sabalenka is into the 2025 US Open semifinals. (AP/Getty Images) Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios has claimed he would easily defeat women’s World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in a proposed “Battle of the Sexes” match potentially scheduled for January in Hong Kong before the Australian Open, according to Australian and British media reports.The exhibition match between the two players has been tentatively planned but not yet confirmed.“She’s not going to beat me, do you really think I have to try 100 percent? Getting to know her, she’s definitely a character,” Kyrgios said in a YouTube interview with fellow men’s tour player Alexander Bublik. “I think she’s the type of player who genuinely thinks she’s going to win.”When asked about his strategy, Kyrgios stated: “Our serves, women can’t return them and then we can just chip and drop shot.”Kyrgios, currently ranked 651st in the world, has been sidelined since his second-round loss at the Miami Open in March due to injuries. The 30-year-old was a Wimbledon finalist in 2022.
Sabalenka, from Belarus, holds three Grand Slam titles and currently sits atop the women’s world rankings.The proposed match draws parallels to the historic 1973 “Battle of the Sexes” exhibition where Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs, a significant moment in the women’s rights movement.